Beverage mug and method for making the same

Abstract

A beverage mug includes a beverage receptacle having a coaster recess defined therein. An elastomeric coaster insert is positioned in the coaster recess and extends outwardly from the beverage container. A method of making a beverage mug is also disclosed.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to beverage containers, and more particularly to beverage mugs.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Beverage receptacles such as mugs are commonly constructed with plastic or metal bodies to provide both ease of manufacture and desirable insulating properties. Such mugs are commonly used in combination with coasters to elevate the bottom of the mug off the surface on which the mug rests to prevent scratching of the surface, and to prevent fluid on the bottom of the mug from staining or otherwise accumulating the surface.

SUMMARY

[0003] According to the present disclosure, a beverage mug includes a beverage receptacle having a flat bottom and a sidewall extending upwardly therefrom. A coaster recess is defined in the beverage container. The coaster recess extends from the flat bottom and up a portion of the sidewall. A coaster insert is positioned in the coaster sidewall such that a portion of the coaster recess extends up a portion of the sidewall.

[0004] The coaster insert may be constructed from a material which is more flexible than the beverage receptacle such as an elastomeric material.

[0005] The beverage receptacle may be configured to include a rounded transition wall positioned between the flat bottom and the sidewall. The coaster insert may extend up a portion of the transition wall.

[0006] Also according to the present disclosure, a method of making a beverage mug includes the step of securing a coaster insert into a coaster recess defined in a beverage receptacle such that the coaster insert extends from a flat bottom of the beverage receptacle and up a portion of a sidewall of the beverage receptacle.

[0007] The coaster insert may be adhesively secured in the coaster recess. The coaster insert may also be molded into the coaster recess.

[0008] The above and other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description and the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a beverage mug;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the side of the beverage mug opposite to the side shown in FIG. 1;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the beverage mug of FIG. 1;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the beverage mug of FIG. 1;

[0014] FIG. 5 is another side elevational view of the beverage mug of FIG. 1;

[0015] FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the side of the beverage mug opposite to the side shown in FIG. 5;

[0016] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the beverage mug of FIG. 1 showing the lid separated from the beverage receptacle;

[0017] FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, but showing both the lid and the coaster insert separated from the beverage receptacle; and

[0018] FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the beverage mug taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 3, note that the lid is not shown in FIG. 9 for clarity of description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Referring now to FIGS. 1-9, there is shown a beverage mug 10 having a beverage receptacle 12 for holding a beverage fluid, and a coaster insert 14. The coaster insert 14 functions to space the beverage receptacle 12 apart from a support surface on which the mug 10 is position, along with providing resistance from slippage along the support surface.

[0020] The beverage receptacle 12 may take many forms and shapes with the embodiments disclosed herein being merely exemplary in nature. Along this line, the beverage receptacle 12 may be constructed from any number of components. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the beverage receptacle 12 may be embodied to include an inner shell 16, an outer shell 18, and a base 20. A handle 22 is defined in the outer shell 16 thereby facilitating use of the mug 10 by a user.

[0021] The mug 10 also includes a lid 24. Like the beverage receptacle 12, the lid 24 may take many forms and shapes with the embodiments disclosed herein being merely exemplary in nature. The lid 24 described herein is embodied as a "spill-proof" lid with a selectively sealable opening thereby allowing the mug 10 to function as a "travel mug."

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 9, the beverage receptacle 12 includes a substantially flat bottom 26 and a sidewall 28 extending upwardly therefrom. The sidewall 28 may be embodied to include a rounded transition wall 30 positioned between the flat bottom 26 and the upper portion of the sidewall 28. It should, however, be appreciated that the beverage receptacle 12 may be embodied without a transition wall 30.

[0023] The beverage receptacle 12 has a coaster recess 32 defined therein. The coaster recess 32 is embodied to receive the coaster insert 14. In particular, as shown in FIG. 9, the coaster recess 32 has a depth which is slightly smaller than the thickness of the coaster insert 14. In such a way, the outer surface of the flat bottom 26 is spaced apart from a support surface 34, such as a table top or the like, on which the mug 10 is positioned (see FIG. 9). As a result, the coaster insert 14 functions as a "built in" coaster for the mug 10. As such, the coaster insert 14 may be constructed out of a material which is more flexible than the material from which the beverage receptacle 12 is constructed. For example, the beverage receptacle 12 may be constructed with a rigid plastic such as polyethylene, whereas the coaster insert 14 may be constructed of an elastomeric material such as rubber.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 8, the coaster recess 32 extends from the flat bottom 26 up through a portion of the sidewall 28 such as, for example, the portion of the sidewall 28 defining the rounded transition wall 30. In particular, the coaster recess 32 includes a ring-shaped central recess portion 36 for accommodating a ring-shaped central hub 38 of the coaster insert 14, and a number of outwardly extending recess portions 40. The outwardly extending recess portions 40 extend from the ring-shaped central recess portion 36 and up a portion of the sidewall 28. A number of outwardly extending protrusions 42 extend from the ring-shaped central hub 38 of the coaster insert 14. The protrusions 42 are positioned in the outwardly extending recess portions 40 of the coaster recess 32 when the coaster insert 14 is secured to the beverage receptacle.

[0025] The beverage receptacle 12 may be embodied such that the coaster recess 32 is formed into any one or more components. In particular, as is the case in the exemplary embodiment described herein, the entirety of the coaster recess 32 is formed in the base 20. However, if so desired, the configuration of the coaster recess 32 may be altered such that a portion of the coaster recess 32 extends upwardly into the outer shell 18.

[0026] The coaster insert 14 may be coupled to the bottom surface of the base 20 using any suitable method. For example, the coaster insert 14 may be secured to the base 20 by use of an adhesive applied to one or both of the coaster insert 14 and the base 20, by fusing and bonding the coaster insert 14 to the base 20, or by using a mechanical connector to secure the coaster insert 14 to the base 20. Moreover, the coaster insert 14 may be molded to the base 20 within the coaster recess 32.

[0027] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific exemplary embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and has herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

[0028] There are a plurality of advantages of the present disclosure arising from the various features of the apparatus and methods described herein. It will be noted that alternative embodiments of the apparatus and methods of the present disclosure may not include all of the features described yet still benefit from at least some of the advantages of such features. Those of ordinary skill in the art may readily devise their own implementations of an apparatus and method that incorporate one or more of the features of the present disclosure and fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A mug comprising: a beverage receptacle comprising a flat bottom and a sidewall extending upwardly from the flat bottom, the beverage receptacle having formed therein a coaster recess which extends from the flat bottom and up a portion of the sidewall, and a coaster insert positioned in the coaster recess so as to extend outwardly from the flat bottom.

2. The mug of claim 1, wherein the coaster insert is constructed from an elastomer.

3. The mug of claim 1, wherein the coaster insert comprises a material that is flexible relative to the beverage receptacle.

4. The mug of claim 1, wherein the coaster insert comprises a ring-shaped hub secured to the flat bottom of the beverage receptacle.

5. The mug of claim 4, wherein the coaster insert further comprises a plurality of projections extending from the ring-shaped hub and up a portion of the sidewall.

6. The mug of claim 5, wherein at least a portion of each of the plurality of projections extends from the flat bottom to engage a surface for supporting the mug.

7. The mug of claim 1, wherein the coaster insert has a thickness that is greater than the depth of the coaster recess such that when the mug is positioned on a support surface, the flat bottom of the beverage receptacle is spaced apart from the support surface.

8. The mug of claim 1, wherein: the beverage receptacle comprises a base and a cylindrically-shaped body secured to one another, and the coaster recess is defined in the base.

9. A mug comprising: a beverage receptacle comprising (i) a flat bottom, (ii) a sidewall extending upwardly from the flat bottom, and (iii) a rounded transition wall positioned between the flat bottom and the sidewall, the beverage receptacle having formed therein a coaster recess which extends from the flat bottom and up a portion of the transition wall, and a coaster insert positioned in the coaster recess so as to extend outwardly from the flat bottom and up the portion of the transition wall.

10. The mug of claim 9, wherein the coaster insert is constructed from an elastomer.

11. The mug of claim 9, wherein the coaster insert comprises a material that is flexible relative to the beverage receptacle.

12. The mug of claim 9, wherein the coaster insert comprises a ring-shaped hub secured to the flat bottom of the beverage receptacle.

13. The mug of claim 12, wherein the coaster insert further comprises a plurality of projections extending from the ring-shaped hub and up the portion of the transition wall.

14. The mug of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of each of the plurality of projections extends from the flat bottom to engage a surface for supporting the mug.

15. The mug of claim 9, wherein the coaster insert has a thickness that is greater than the depth of the coaster recess such that when the mug is positioned on a support surface, the flat bottom of the beverage receptacle is spaced apart from the support surface.

16. The mug of claim 9, wherein: the beverage receptacle comprises a base and a cylindrically-shaped body secured to one another, and the coaster recess is defined in the base.

17. A method of making a beverage mug, the method comprising the steps of: forming a coaster recess in a beverage container such that the coaster recess extends from a flat bottom of the beverage container and up a portion of a sidewall of the beverage container, and securing a coaster insert in the coaster recess such that the coaster insert extends outwardly from the flat bottom of the container and up a portion of the sidewall of the beverage container.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the securing step comprises securing an elastomeric coaster insert in the coaster recess.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the securing step comprises adhesively securing the coaster insert in the coaster recess.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the securing step comprises molding the coaster insert into the coaster recess.